Worcester State to be used for mass-vaccination site
Photo | Grant Welker
Worcester State University
The Worcester State University campus will be used as a major-scale COVID-19 vaccination drive, Worcester officials announced Thursday.
The campus's gymnasium and fitness center will be used starting Feb. 16. The site will welcome all residents, not only first responders as at the Worcester Senior Center, but it will prioritize the population groups as determined by the state, most notably seniors and those with existing conditions first.
The Worcester State site will be run with Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Medical School's consulting and operations arm Commonwealth Medicine, and be open Tuesday through Saturday. A goal is to vaccinate 1,000 people per day at first, and eventually 2,000 a day, City Manager Edward Augustus said. Appointments will be needed.
City officials said last week they were working with state leaders to find a vaccination site in Worcester but didn't say which locations were being eyed.
[Related: Major improvement shown in Worcester County COVID-19 case trends]
"This is a really terrific feel," Dr. Michael Hirsh, the medical director of the Worcester Division of Public Health, said of the creation of the vaccination center, which speakers during a press conference called an example of needed cooperation during the public health crisis.
Worcester State joins other large vaccinations sites, including Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and a shopping center in Springfield.
Statewide, more than 681,000 vaccine doses have been administered, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health data released Thursday. Nearly 900,000 vaccines have been distributed to vaccination facilities, including 105,000 to facilities in Worcester County.
Saint Vincent Hospital has vaccinated about 3,000 people at its Worcester campus, CEO Carolyn Jackson said. Now, it'll use that experience to provide management, clinical oversight and staff to aid with the vaccination efforts.
"We're excited to expand that expertise," Jackson said.
Residents will be able to book appointments online here.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
1 Comments